Love for What it's Worth
by greenikat89
Summary: Oneshot, MWPP: Love hurt and no one knew that better than James Potter as he tries to make Lily love him as much as he loves her.


**Disclaimer: **No, no I do not own the Hp universe. If I did then you can sure as heck know I wouldn't have killed off my two favorite characters.

A/N: Wow. I did a James Potter fiction. Hopefully it turned out all right since I don't think I have quite a grasp on him yet, especially of the angsting kind. Poor James, he'll get Lily eventually.

* * *

Love hurt, and no one knew that better than James Potter. All it took was one look at her sunset colored hair that glowed in the light and her green eyes that sparkled with warmth and intelligence for love at first sight. She looked radiant and sophisticated and absolutely gorgeous in James' eyes and he'd fallen for her. Hard. 

He had replayed the image of her laughing with her friends throughout the train ride as he worked up the courage to talk to her. All he wanted to do was talk to her to impress her so they could become friends. Then he could build upon that friendship overtime and he'd ask her to go out with him. She would blush prettily and agree and they would do everything together and people would say what a cute couple they made. Then after they graduated he'd ask Lily to marry him and they'd be happily wed and living in a house with a white picket fence with a beautiful baby boy who he'd name James Jr.

James had it all planned out and was ecstatic when he arrived at Hogwarts and she was sorted into Gryffindor along with him. He finally had his chance when she was walking alone along the gardens outside and he'd followed her to confess his love. He'd called out her name and opened his mouth to introduce himself and say all the things he had planned to. But nothing came out except a squeak and she had looked at him funny thinking he was joking with her and she shot him a look before haughtily brushing right by him before he had a chance.

She ignored him from then on whenever he tried to talk to her so he could properly introduce himself and his plans for James Jr. He wasn't put off; he just had to change his plan a bit. He was determined to get Lily to notice him so she would listen to his words of undying love and return his feelings tenfold. But his plan didn't work at all. He tried to be confident like the characters in the novels Lily read but the redhead just stuck up her nose stating how arrogant he was. He tried being funny but he only got acidic glares at the pranks he pulled. He tried being charming and loudly complimenting her appearance where everyone else can hear it but she just sneered at him for being a jerk.

Each spurn of his advances at wooing her only made him more determined to win Lily's heart because James knew, he _knew_, she was the one. He'd make her see it too, even as she slowly chipped away his self-confidence. His love notes were torn up, gifts thrown in the trash, and every innocent touch on her beautiful person was rebuffed with sharp words and a pointed glare. His love for her was belittled and turned into a running joke among Hogwarts as year after year he tried for Lily. He took it in stride, as the resident prankster of Hogwarts and leader of the Marauders it wouldn't do to show how much he was crumbling inside.

Lily's words cut into his soul and his pride damaged with each word falling from her beautiful, pink mouth as she mocked him. She only saw him as an arrogant, haughty prankster with the world at his fingertips, but what she didn't know was that everything he was was for her. Everything James did was done for Lily and he hadn't meant to acquire such a reputation along the way to be what she wanted. He did it to see her eyes soften around the corners and her mouth turn up in a smile that was brighter than any _lumos_ spell.

James loved Lily and he would do anything for that love. Even if that meant sacrificing his pride as he made a fool of himself. Even if that meant pouring out his heart to her only to have that flung back in his face. Even if that meant changing everything about him for the slight chance that Lily would believe him and love him back. Such was the price of love and James would pay anything for it, even at the cost of his own breaking heart.


End file.
